Bicycle trip through the Altes Land (30/03/2024)

On a cloudy, yet rather warm end of March day, our friends Margo and Denisz came with Ania and me on a bicycle trip through the Altes Land, an an area of reclaimed marshland south of Hamburg now known for being the biggest contiguous fruit-producing region in North Europe. We first reached the neighborhood of Blankenese on the western end of the city of Hamburg, right on the bank of the river Elbe. Here we intended to take the ferry over to Cranz, a village on the other side of the river. However, unfortunately, the tide was quite low and once on the ferry we were told we would not be able to head over to Cranz and instead had to do with Finkenwerder, also on the other side but further east. This meant that our bicycle ride would be much longer due to the added kilometers both on the way there and back. We left the ferry terminal and biked along the Hamburg Finkerwerder Airport, used as a manufacturing plant by Airbus. Cycling on a dike along a nice countryside we then reached the village of Borstel with its windmill Aurora and a nice main street sided by old houses and the church of St Nikolai. A little further on we then reached Jork. The town featured a small yet pretty old town with nice timber-framed houses. We also managed to visit the main church, St. Matthias, originally dating to the 13th century but refurbished in a baroque style during the 17th and 18th centuries. It featured a nice interior with a wooden ceiling dotted with stars to symbolize the dark night sky and outside a semi-detached thick wooden tower. After a quick lunch break, we got back on our bicycles and decided to start heading back this time taking a different way. We passed through the village of Estebrügge, with at its center the church of St Martini. Also refurbished in the baroque style, this too had a thick wooden tower. From there we cycled through more countryside, passing by some nice blossoming trees and here and there some timber-framed farmhouses. After some time cycling we eventually came to the airport once again and a while later to the Finkerwerde ferry where we then took a boat back to Hamburg. Once there we decided to watch the Easter Fires, which in this part of Hamburg are built all along the bank of the river. We picked one of the larger ones and sat down beside it waiting for it to be turned on. We waited quite a bit as apparently according to the firemen the wind had picked up and for safety reasons, they decided to wait for a more calm moment. Eventually, well after sunset, the many fires along the Elbe started to be set on fire, and so di the one next to us. We watched it burn for a bit and then decided it was time to head back in the city, have dinner at a burger place called Peter Pane and then head home.

The beach in Blankenese

The village of Jork

Interior of St Matthias

The church of St Matthias

Another view of Jork

Jork's main street

The church of St Martini in Esterbrugge

One of Hamburg's Easter Fires

Hike from Rehfelde to Berlin (16/03/2024)

 Ania and I wished to complete our longest hike so far by walking 60km from somewhere in Brandenburg all the way to our home in Berlin. After some planning, I has decided to start from the train station of Müncheberg, east of Berlin, and walk all the way to our place. However, once on the train, the train stopped for nearly one hour before a random town and eventually, we were let off in a place called Rehfelde as a branch had fallen on the train tracks and we could not continue further. We got off there and I quickly found an alternative to still manage to walk 60km from that point. That meant hiking first eastward, then pointing up north, and eventually back west towards Berlin. After leaving the train station we hiked through the woods and came upon the Pyramide Garzau. Considered as the the largest fieldstone pyramid in Germany, it was built in 1784 probably as a mausoleum for Friedrich Wilhelm von Schmettau. The pyramid was part of an overall complex consisting of the Garzau Castle and the associated landscape park, however by the 20th century the whole complex fell into disrepair. After burning, the manor was rebuilt in 1911 while the pyramid was only rebuilt in 2009. After that, we continued on foot and reached the nearby village of Garzau with its nice fieldstone Dorfkirche, originally dating to the 13th century but rebuilt in the 18th century. Continuing on a bicycle path we reached the next village, Garzin, also with its nice fieldstone church, dating to the 13th century and with a 15th-century tower. Continuing through some countryside we passed through another village, Hohenstein, and then another, Klosterdorf, also with its fieldstone church dating to the 13th century. All these villages had a peculiar small pond in the middle of town, probably once used as a water source or fishing spot. We then continued our walk and eventually reached a forested area. We followed some paths deep in the forest and at one point bordered the Schloss Wilkendorf golf course. They were cutting down a lot of trees next to it, probably planning to expand it or develop some roads close to it. Unfortunately, at one point, as we continued on it started drizzling slightly but luckily we had our waterproof jackets with us. We walked along the western shore of the Ihlandsee and heading further deep into the forest we reached another lake, the Fängersee. Here again, we walked along its slightly hilly western shore and along the shore of the nearby Bötzsee as well. Then we headed west and after a bit left the forest behind and walked through some countryside until we reached the town of Altlandsberg. We crossed its nice old town, which we had visited before, and headed further west. We walked through the small village of Seeberg, with its church dating to the 13th century but with a tower refurbished later in a neogothic style. Soon after we passed over a highway and continued along the countryside. The sun was out and warming us up a little, but as sunset was soon approaching the temperatures dropped. Not long after we finally reached the outskirts of Berlin, a clear drastic change from the nearby countryside we were now surrounded by the typical soviet style tall unappealing buildings and walking along the large avenues. We walked through the areas of Hönow, Hellersdorf, and then Marzahn, and reached the Ikea store of Lichtenberg right after darkness. Here we stopped to eat some warm food but as soon as we set foot inside, due to the stark change in temperatures from the cold outside and warm inside I then got very dizzy and had to lie down as my whole vision went dark. Ania had a similar experience but not as strong as me. I needed a few minutes to recover and then proceeded to voraciously eat my meatballs with mashed potatoes and peas. However, after that we decided to end our walk there, just shy of 7km from our house. Unfortunately, it was too cold outside and my legs hurt so we ended up walking just 53km instead of the 60 planned. 

The Garzau pyramid

Garzau village

Garzin village

Hohenstein village

A cabin in the woods

The Fängersee